The Harmony of Chaos
by Digi Chris
Summary: Sequel to Borne Up on Angel Wings. After the last battle against Zarathustra, Shion and Jr. make one final effort to find Lost Jerusalem and, hopefully, chaos and KOSMOS. What they find along the way, though, may shake their beliefs to the core.
1. Chapter 1

Um…hi all. So, where to begin…I'm not dead, even though I've been absent from for a year. I had a bit of a dry spell in terms of writing (read: was too lazy), but, heheh, it's gone! I had some other stories in mind besides this one, but after playing and beating Xenosaga IIII (German name Zarathustra) I was inspired to start this one, which I had promised to write as a sequel to Borne Up on Angel Wings at some point or another.

This fic takes place after the end of Xenosaga III, so I guess that means there are a few spoilers, but if you skip the flashbacks there won't be anything that will detract you from the game if you haven't played it yet.

It was close to impossible for me to reconcile the ending of the series with Borne Up on Angel Wings, but I managed to conflate the two somehow… Obviously some things had to be tweaked, so I suppose it's slightly AU, but I tried really hard to make everything fit seamlessly. The first draft will probably be loaded with inconsistencies and anachronistic messes. I'll do my best to clean them up. Basically this story takes place after the events of Borne Up on Angel Wings and (most) of the events of Xenosaga III. It's easier to read this story than for me to sit here wasting bytes here trying to explain it.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it. Sequels usually suck, so I don't know what I'm getting into here, but hopefully you guys'll like it.

It's good to be back!

**The Harmony of Chaos**

**Prologue **

"_To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream."_

---

_If one single human thought can change the whole world, then…_

_It's dark. And quiet. But not ominous. Menace, fear, terror, all of these words are merely used to describe how the observer perceives what he sees. There is no terror in darkness, nor is there menace in silence. Humans who innately fear the unknown give the expansive darkness of space the characteristics of that which can harm them. Humans, who innately dread being alone, shun and resist the silence, while filling up all the voids with endless noise, drowning out the silence, as if to assert their existence. _

_Why do I exist? No…it's not passive: Why am I forced to exist? We fight against mysteries by attempting to solve them with reasons, for our own peace of mind. Sometimes we come up with our own reasons in order to stifle the unknown, even if those reasons—born from the human desire to explain their world and their place in it—turn out to be untrue. We shed light on mysteries because we don't like the dark. Hmm…it's strange. Although the dark holds no harm, there has always been something reassuring about the light. Even if the light brings forth an awful truth, we still prefer to know something undesirable rather than not know anything at all. Humanity's greatest sin was, after all, eating from the Tree of Knowledge. We would rather be condemned then live in the dark…_

_Why do I exist? I exist for the people I care about…for the people I love. Yes, this is my reason for existence. It may or may not be true—but it's true for me. And it's true for her…And that's all that matters. This is not deception. I am not fooling myself. This is hope. Hope: the little word that saved her…and myself. _

_I have done no wrong. I have chosen my own path, and walked it with no regrets, as they all did. In my weakness, or despite it, I exist for the people I care about. I elude human definitions, yet I am inextricably bound to humanity's words and feelings. I am a part of their consciousness, their beautiful consciousness. I believe in peace, despite my weakness…_

_I am…the Order born from Discord. _

_I am a single Melody in the Dissonance, yet I am the Dissonance itself. _

_I am the Harmony born from Chaos._

_In the midst of all these contradictions…_

_If one single human thought can change the whole world, then a single human life holds: infinite possibilities. _

…_I exist. _

_Yes. It's strange. In spite of all these contradictions, I exist._

_I am chaos. _

---

In the aftermath of all that had transpired, Shion Uzuki would have been a fool had she thought she had done nothing life-affirming in the past three years. Yet, regardless of all the triumphs, the deaths, the losses, and the final confrontation, fate would not let her believe that she was done. Her journey was not over. Far from it. And she would have to continue doing…what she did.

What, exactly, did Vector's former First Division director do? This thought plagued her now that she had ample time to think about it. What she did…Well, a hell of a lot of traveling. No one could argue with that. If one were to inquire what the state of the Elsa's fuel bill was ever since Shion stepped onboard the ship, the freighter's Captain would very likely have a stroke—and then knock said inquirer out. But "traveling" didn't seem to cut it; the one word was insufficient. Not that Shion was one to think highly of herself, but her activities did seem—even in her modest eyes—more impressive and effecting that mere "traveling".

"Adventuring," maybe. Eh, she didn't like the sound of that. She had never considered her exploits to be adventurous. An adventure implies something not only life-changing, but also fun. Exciting. Thrilling even. Nothing about her various missions had ever been thrilling. Tortuous maybe. Fun? No. "Adventure" was a euphemism for what she had gone through.

"Fighting"? Well, yes, and a lot of it. The reason she had purchased 26 expensive M.W.S.'s (out of her own pocket) was due to the fact that the previous 25 weapons had broken during combat. The cause of this constant breaking was probably abuse and overuse. However, fighting was only a fraction of the activities that made up her time during her journey. She had also spent her time eating, talking, crying, using the bathroom, loving…, sleeping, and a number of other verbs, none of which seemed to capture her experiences either. "Loving" may have had a shot, had her journey not been rife with pain alongside it. So it seemed to her, unfortunately, that the most accurate word used to define what she did over the past three years would have to be "adventure". A tortuous adventure. The phrase would have to do for now, but it was only temporary. The time she had now to think about other such mysteries was practically limitless.

"You're boring."

Shion snapped out of her deep thoughts and glared at her red-haired friend:

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're boring. You haven't said anything for the past 10,000 miles. You could pass for dead."

"Oh?" Shion raised an eyebrow, "I'd gladly speak with you, had you the ability of providing me with intellectually stimulating conversation."

Jr. sighed and dramatically shook his head, showing off his evident disappointment with what he thought was a lame comeback, "You're losing you're edge, Shion. That was almost funny, but keep trying!" He smiled hopefully, "At least you can attempt to entertain me."

Shion rolled her eyes, then paused, hoping to stimulate some intelligent words from her friend, "I was just thinking, you know? About what happened. Why things happened the way they did. I've never had time to actually sit down and sift through all the information we've come across."

"Yeah, well." Jr. turned and stared out the window of the Elsa's bridge, "You could write a book if you wanted to with the time you have now—once you stop being boring, of course—seeing as that we won't be going anywhere anytime soon at this pace."

She nodded, ignoring the insult, "Funny how we take things for granted—until they're gone." She mused, "How much time did we used to spend in hyperspace, or in the Encephalon, or communicating through the U.M.N.? While I was working for Vector, I spent more time in virtual space than in real space. It was a huge part of life…and now it's gone. I miss the U.M.N."

Jr. laughed, nudging Shion with his elbow, "Right, and by "U.M.N.", you mean "chaos"—" He abruptly stifled his giggles though, suddenly realizing his stupidity, "Sorry," he began, "I was just—"

"It's fine," she said, "Really, I'm surprised that I'm not sad. I wasn't sad at all, actually. Just disappointed. However," She folded her arms and stood up, towering over Jr. with a distinct height advantage, "You should take some sensitivity training. I know you have issues when faced with smart people, but please try to keep your intelligence-deprived remarks to a minimum."

Jr. nodded and smiled, "Better, Uzuki. If you keep going at this rate, you may actually say something funny tomorrow."

Shion shook her head and sighed with a final outburst of friendly frustration, and turned around with the intent of heading towards the Elsa's restaurant. "I'm hungry," She called over her shoulder, "be sure to call me if anything happens."

Jr. let out a forced laugh laced with sarcasm, "Oh, ok. We may encounter a whole lot of dangerous nothing in your absence, but I'll promise I'll alert you to the perils of empty space should that need arise." He smirked, loading his words with pretension. He was about to head towards the cockpit to annoy Tony in an effort to stave off his boredom, but he thought better of it and called out to Shion, who was just leaving the bridge.

"Hmm?" She turned around, responding to the young voice.

"If it makes you feel any better…I miss him too." He replied, avoiding her eyes out of gentle timidity, "I know you hate hearing this, but I understand how you feel."

She smiled, "I know you do. And thanks. I appreciate that."

Jr. started, "You know we can always talk about it if—" But he was caught off by Shion's waving hand:

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She smiled, "Now come on. Come with me to the restaurant and lets raid the fridge. Better yet, let's drink all of the Captain's beer!"

Jr.'s eyes lit up, "Alright!"

The two friends bolted for the restaurant. After their final battle, Shion and Jr. had made a promise to speak of what had happened if they ever felt the need to voice their pain. But now, like before, didn't seem like the right moment. It was probably too soon, and still hurt too much. Besides, who could forget what happened?…

It's over. She knew for sure now. The final confrontation—they had won. Zarathustra and Wilhelm had been defeated. And now Shion's sacrifices would finally be avenged. The universe, at least for a few thousand years, was saved. How clichéd did that sound? Very, but for her, in that moment, it didn't matter. From the death of her parents to her second and final resignation from Vector, she knew now that her suffering had not been in vain.

She gazed at her surroundings one final time before this region of space disappeared from temporal reality. The crystalline structures, the greenish light, the way her friends gasped and held themselves to keep from falling, all these last images would be burned into her memory forever. This would be, hopefully, the last time she would have to use an M.W.S.. In that shining room bathed in green light, resonating with the mysterious crystals that Ormus had enshrined and protected for millennia, lay the ruins of the Eternal Circle: Zarathustra. The Compass of Order was no more. She and her friends had erased Wilhelm from existence.

Shion sank to her knees as the frail walls of the sacred room began to fracture. Wilhelm… Despite all the tragedies she had witnessed since her cursed day on the Woglinde—some horrifying enough to draw the weak-willed to suicide—the one regarding her former CEO seemed to get the better of her, for reasons she couldn't bare to analyze. She had saved him. Long before this defining moment, she had saved Wilhelm one year ago on the day that she had come into her own. Fighting a cataclysmic battle on the Elsa's hull, floating above Lost Jerusalem, she had borrowed some of chaos's power and used it to protect her friends and save Wilhelm from U-DO's contamination.

Tears formed in her eyes as the crystals around her began to crumble. How long ago did Wilhelm tell her that he would restore glory to Vector, that he would make amends, that he had in fact been used by U-DO, and that now he would take responsibility for his actions? She had found solace in those words, thinking that if Wilhelm could return to normal, then anything could be possible. But the truth has a way of wiping away naïve hopes. The truth dictated that Wilhelm had never been "normal". The truth asserted that U-DO was, shockingly, not the enemy, and that Wilhelm and the Testaments had been merely abusing U-DO's essence for their own ends: to cheat death and humanity, to take control of imaginary space…to establish the Eternal Recurrence. Wilhelm's contamination had not been caused by U-DO, he was more likely a puppet of Zarathustra. Or perhaps it was the other way around, with Wilhelm as the grand director, instructing Zarathustra and U-DO to strut about his stage and play the roles he had scripted for them.

Either way it didn't matter now. Whatever his circumstances were, they didn't change the fact that when Shion thought she had rescued a dangerous man from himself, it had only been temporary, for Wilhelm wasn't even a man. He was…what? A tool, probably. A tool used to change the existence of the universe, a tool manipulated by himself and by Zarathustra. When Wilhelm's first plan to slay Anima…Yeshua…chaos failed, he decided that preventing the dissipation of the universe through chaos's death was not the answer. The Messiah's death would have obliterated the Gnosis—those poor souls who reject each other and this universe—and erased the threat of universal dissipation, but it wouldn't have changed the way humans feel about the universe. It wouldn't have changed the hate they feel for each other, themselves, and their worlds, or the hurt they inflict upon one another. No, the answer for Wilhelm wasn't saving the universe, it was erasing it and starting over. Freeing humans from death, allowing them to live life over and over again…the Eternal Circle.

That was, in theory, Wilhelm's goal. At least until the hero (that's what chaoshad called her. She remembered) overcame herself and asserted humanity's right and responsibility to take its destiny into its own hands. For her, the future was overflowing with hope. For her, salvation was possible even if it meant risking the universe's balance and walking over that fine thread that separated existence from dissipation. Her hope and resolve had saved them all. chaos had said that the world was more flexible then even he thought possible, and on that fateful day, Shion had been the embodiment of that statement. Humans, she and her friends asserted, had the right to walk their own path, with a full understanding of the consequences their actions would bring…

Taking responsibility for humanity's future did not come without its costs, though. With Shion's victory came the loss of imaginary space and all that came with it: the U.M.N. and Faster Than Light travel. But more importantly, and tragically—for her—came the loss of chaos and KOS-MOS. Shion had knelt, shivering on her knees, staring in front of the two siblings. The android—Shion's treasured friend, almost like a daughter to her—stood awakened before her for the second and final time. And chaos…the one she loved. They had found each other only a breath of time ago, and so soon they would have to part ways again. She was unnervingly silent during their last moments together. She forced herself to say something…anything, to resist fate at all costs and force him not to leave…but all she had the strength to do was look at him.

"Please don't be sad, Shion." KOS-MOS had said. And...she wasn't. For some reason, KOS-MOS's words reached her and caused Shion to accept these heart-wrenching circumstances. As for chaos…he had just looked at her. Their gaze met, and Shion found in his eyes all the reassurance she needed.

And then it was time. One final goodbye. One final embrace, and KOS-MOS and chaos, along with Nephilim and little Abel, absorbed the Gnosis and returned to Lost Jerusalem, with the promise to see each other again soon. Shion hadn't resisted, but she knew that her life and sanity hinged around that promise. So there was one more thing she had to do before settling down for good—she had to find Lost Jerusalem (for the second time). Her adventure would finally end once she found humanity's ancient home, her creation, and her love.

"Too painful." She muttered, as she forced the memories of her last moments with the Aeons out of her head for the time being. At the time of their separation, she hadn't been sad. She wasn't sad now either, in a strange sort of way, but that didn't mean she wasn't hurting inside. The wounds were simply too fresh, that's all. Of course she would see all of them again, she didn't allow herself to have any doubts about that. The only problem was time…too much of it. Too much time would pass before she reached Lost Jerusalem without the aide of FTL travel.

"Um, sorry Jr. I'm actually kind of tired. I think I'm going to take a rest." She excused herself from the restaurant and walked towards her cabin.

Jr. looked up from the wine crate he was rummaging through, "Uh. Ok. Er…sleep well then, I guess." He took a breath to say something but then thought better of it and closed his mouth. Friends knew when silence was the best answer.

Shion walked into her cabin and collapsed on her bed. She tossed and turned for a few minutes, gazed out into space, and thought. Then, in a final struggle in her mind between her defeatist, dramatic self and the more hopeful optimistic one, the latter won out. She sat up and looked at herself in the reflection of her cabin's window. Her mirrored face had a backdrop of the cosmos. She giggled, finding her temporary portrait strangely funny. No. Things were not perfect. She didn't get the happy ending she was hoping for. She closed her eyes and remembered her short stay on Lost Jerusalem, the first and only time she had seen humanity's cradle. How transient the time she spent there felt like…and yet the memories of that beautiful place were so vibrant. She still saw the sea and the sunset in her dreams. She remembered it all. The beach. The limpid sky. The columns of the ancients. And of course, it all reminded her of him… That would have been her ideal ending, but, of course, she knew there never really was an "ending" to anything. Life goes on. As much as she wanted to stay in Rome forever, she knew she had to leave. She returned to her job, and chaos had returned to his, for a brief time. Then came the shocking discovery, one that shook her to the very core. Vector's involvment with the Gnosis phenomenon. She quit her job, joined a terrorist organization, orchestrated a rendezvous with her lover and the Elsa's crew on Fifth Jerusalem, and then…well…it hit the fan. Lots of it.

She opened her eyes again. No. Things were not perfect. But they were not hopeless either. On the contrary, she had accomplished more than she could have dreamed. Now there were no Gnosis, no Ormus, no enemies. No reason to fight or suffer anymore. The only thing that stretched ahead of her now was a journey to find the lost planet, the one the ancients called Earth. And despite her complaining, she really did enjoy traveling. And Jr.'s company. But she'd be hard-pressed to tell him that anytime soon.

"Hey, you drunken minor!" She yelled running out of her cabin, "You'd better not be extinguishing the Captain's liquor stash all by yourself!" Her voice rang out across the Elsa as she made her way back to the restaurant. Unfortunately for her, Captain Mathews—who was taking a bathroom break from his hectic job of doing nothing—heard her, and his trained ears especially picked out the key words "Captain," "liquor," and "extinguished."

His face reddened, "Wait, Shion. You're…YOU'RE DOING WHAT?"

---

"Are we there yet?" Jr. moaned in exasperation. When they had first departed from the Dammerung in search of Lost Jerusalem, their resolve had been unshakable. Not that it had dwindled now, but the interminable amount of time that it would take to reach Lost Jerusalem was starting to sink in. They had been traveling at normal speeds for a long time, and there was only so much one could do on the Elsa without losing his (or her) mind.

"Little Master, if you say that one more time, I swear to God, I'll give the Elsa the overdo scrubbing that it needs with your face!" The Captian bellowed, tired of his crew's constant whining. What was he paying them for anyway? (The fact that he wasn't paying them anything didn't excuse them, in his mind, from their insolent behavior.)

"But we're going soooo slow!" Jr. groaned again, pacing around the bridge along with Shion for lack of better things to do. "Can't you speed up this hulk of trash?"

Tony interrupted what was going to be a curse-laden insult from the Captain, "It'd be kind of hard to go faster without a U.M.N. column. I'm afraid all we have at our disposal are the Elsa's thrusters." He cracked his knuckles, relaxing his hands from the grip they usually have on the Elsa's controls, "We can't gate-in to hyperspace if there isn't any hyperspace to gate-in to."

"How eloquent, pilot." Jr. grumbled, "But what about that overboost thing the Elsa went into when we escaped Michtam after the battle with Zarathustra. Can't we use that to increase our speed?"

"For about two minutes!" The Captain responded, "Overboost requires a tremendous amount of energy. We'd burn out the Elsa's Logical Drive if we kept her in overboost for an extended period of time."

"Hmm…not really."

All heads turned towards the Elsa's navigator.

"Er…" Jr. prompted him, "Care to elaborate, Hammer?"

"Well, the Captain is right that the Logical Drive would burn out in overboost—if it had hyperspace capabilities. Both hyperspace and overboost would short out the Elsa's transmission chips, which use the Logical Drive's gravitic warp to bend space and access the U.M.N. via column pulses—" Hammer was interrupted.

"Ok Hammer, whatever. Cut the technocrap and get to your point…idiot." The Captain simmered.

"Ah, as I was saying. Both hyperspace and overboost put too much stress on the Logical Drive. However, since hyperspace is no longer an option, that ability has been erased from the Drive with the disappearance of U.M.N. pulses. This allows the engine to save a tremendous amount of energy that was previously used to gate jump into hyperspace. We could use that energy to power the overboost without shorting out the Logical Drive."

Silence. Then:

"You serious, Hammer?" Shion asked.

"Well, yeah. It's just basic thermodynamics theory." He began a short-lived lecture on said theory before the Captain exploded:

"WE'VE BEEN TRAVELING FOR TWO FREAKING MONTHS!" He shouted, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US BEFORE!"

"Well, I thought you knew…" Hammer began defending himself.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME YOU COULD HAVE SAVED US?"

"It depends on the—" Hammer was cut off again, the Captain deciding whatever he had to say to be negligible from this point on.

"TONY!" He bellowed, then inhaled deeply and managed to calm down, "Initiate overboost."

"Roger."

Shion attempted to assuage Hammer's bruised ego, but before the words left her mouth she was thrown off her feet and slammed against the back wall of the bridge.

"Waaahh! Tony! What the heck?" She gasped, reeling from inertia. She didn't remember her first experience with overboost being this powerful. Must be the extra energy saved up from the lack of hyperspace capability. She scrambled, somewhat successfully, to get to her feet without tripping over Jr., who was sprawled out in a heap right beneath her.

"Heh, heh." The Captain chuckled, "I do recommend that all passengers remain seated at all times when the Elsa is in motion. I don't want any lawsuits."

"Thanks for the warning." Shion grumbled, helping Jr. up. She looked out the window and saw flashes of the Elsa's Ether wings as the freighter sped at an exponentially higher speed through normal space. So the Elsa had wings too. Apparently she wasn't the only one…

"Alright." The Captain sighed, jumping out of his seat, "the ship's artificial gravity has stabilized. It's time for dinner. Hammer, you're not allowed to say anything until we find Lost Jerusalem, got it? Now Shion, do something useful and fulfill your womanly duties by making us some curry."

"Hmm," Hammer interjected, preventing a lethal explosion from Shion, "that's interesting."

"Did you not just here me say to shut your trap?" The Captain scowled, then dodged Shion's fist, whose trajectory had been aimed for his face.

"No really, look at this." Hammer pointed at a red dot on his screen.

"Is that…" Jr. approached the screen, incredulous as to what he was seeing, "…a U.M.N. hyperspace column?"

"Impossible." Shion breathed, "The U.M.N. disappeared. How could there be a column? This must be some mistake."

Hammer glared at her, "Are you questioning the efficacy of my computer? This thing is flawless, and it is clearly detecting a transfer column 2 astronomical units away from us at two o'clock."

"I-I can't believe it." Jr. mumbled.

"Well, in that case, what are we waiting for? Let's gate jump into it." Shion said, without a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"WHAT? Are you mentally impaired? We have no idea where that thing will take us? And what if it's unstable and disappears while we're in hyperspace? We'd have no way of getting back!" The Captain exclaimed.

"Of course I'm crazy." Shion smiled, "We all are. We're on a mission to find a lost planet without a map or any idea where we're supposed to be going. All we have is the fragmented Y-Data, which will at best vaguely point us in the right direction. All of us are way in over our heads here. There is no better opportunity then now to take a risk."

Hammer considered her words, "Well, the column is stable for now, so we could always turn back if we gate out someplace undesirable, but you guys are all missing the bigger picture: how did the U.M.N. column appear in the first place when there is no hyperspace!"

"Could it have something to do with the Elsa's overboost?" Tony ventured a guess.

"Hmm, maybe…" Jr. stretched his last syllable as if to imply massive disbelief, "I bet KOS-MOS could tell us if she were here…"

"Well, she's not!" Shion cried, suddenly impassioned, "And she won't be until we find Lost Jerusalem. Why are you guys hesitating?" She looked imploringly at Jr., "If we play it safe and ignore the column, we may encounter less danger, but we'll regret it deeply if we never…if we never find…"

"That's enough Shion." Jr. smiled. "It's decided. Captain, prepare to gate jump into the transfer column."

"Wha…grr, alright Little Master." He resigned himself to their resolve. "This ship is a damn circus. I'm warning you all! If we run into trouble I'll be the first one to say I told you so!"

"We'll deal with that when the situation arises." Shion smiled, she received her first adrenaline boost in weeks. Maybe she wasn't ready to relinquish her M.W.S. just yet…

"You scared, Shion?" Jr. smirked, "It could be dangerous. There's still time to back out if you're having second thoughts."

She returned the smirk, "Bring it on, you alcoholic."

"Alright!" Jr. smiled, "Hammer, do we have the coordinates?"

"Yup."

"It's settled then, prepare for gate-in!"

The Elsa's Logical Drive hummed and revved into life. The freighter accelerated, began to glow, and for the first time in two months, transcended the barrier of space.

Weee, I love this feeling! Sadly, there was not so much chaos in the prologue of The Harmony of Chaos because I had to set up background and…stuff. I'll get to the loose ends that don't make sense eventually. If you're thinking, "but what about Kevin/Albedo/something else you forgot", I'll get to it—I promise.

Even if you believe this totally sucks, I'd really love to hear what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but be nice—I haven't been writing for a year…

Next chapter will be up…sometime soon. I'm also working on another Xenofic, but I'll do my best. I'm really looking forward to hear form you. So, yeah. R/R!


	2. Chapter 2

Whoops I forgot this before, and since I don't enjoy being sued:

Disclaimer: Xenosaga I, Xenosaga II, Xenosaga III, the Anime Series, and all other related properties belong to their respective owners. The prequel to this story, Borne Up on Angel Wings, is mine, and the plot of this story (for better or worse) is mine.

Now for some clarifications. I've received many questions about Allen (and by "many" I mean "one") and…I really don't know what to do with him. Obviously, because of the ending of BUOAW, I can't really integrate him into this story without some inconsistencies. (Also, the fact that my series is fundamentally a romance between chaos and Shion may place Allen in an existential crisis). Don't get me wrong—I have nothing against Allen—I relate to him more than anybody else in the game. I just chose not to include him in my previous story because, given the info from Xenosaga I and II, chaos seemed like a more interesting character, and it would have been difficult to have Allen do anything short of hiding behind a box without taking him out-of-character.

However, for all those concerned, Allen is fine and well in this story, and is happily fishing at the Dammerung's artificial pond. It is not altogether impossible that in some other scary story that I bring to life that Allen will, eventually, get the girl of his dreams.

But that is neither here nor there for now, and all of you are probably bored silly right now, which is very sad, because even though this Chapter may lack literary mastery, I don't think it is all boring.

Enough blabbing then, and by all means enjoy!

**The Harmony of Chaos**

**Chapter 1**

The mega-conglomerate corporation Vector was not having a good time. As a matter of fact, for the first time since it's creation 4000 years ago during the era of Lost Jerusalem, Vector Industries faced a very possible and very real liquidation. The Directors were not happy, not so much because the company didn't have the infrastructure to deal with the current loss, but because no one had left them a memo of what to do in the event that such an unthinkable catastrophe should occur. It came as a surprise to no one that the company's suffocating bureaucracy would be unable to handle the situation, and given the loss of the brains behind Vector's well-oiled money-making machine, the sheer ineptitude of those left in charge would make the overdue death of humanity's oldest corporation practically inevitable.

In short, Vector had no CEO. Wilhelm's untimely disappearance left the inhabitants of the Dammerung vulnerable to the unimaginable: bankruptcy. Without a president to make all of the company's important decisions, Vector's bureaucrats were freaking out—too frightened to think about where their next paycheck was going to come from. This is inconceivable, they all shouted to each other. Surely there must be some sort of exploitable loophole we can use to deal with this situation. They recited to themselves for the hundredth time the company's ancient charter: "in the event of the removal, resignation, death, or otherwise incapacitation of Vector's President, the position will be automatically delegated to the Director of First Research & Development Division." Wonderful in theory, but they realized, to their utter dismay, that life never quite works out "in theory". Sadly, the Director of First R&D division quit a short while ago (no one could quite remember when, but it was short enough ago that nobody seemed to have the time to hire or promote a replacement, given the scandalous turmoil Vector was going through regarding the Gnosis Phenomenon.) Unfortunately for those in charge (who, of course, where in charge only "in theory"), the charter didn't spell out for them what was to be done if both the President and the Director of First Division were AWOL. And more terrifying than the loss of their paychecks was the shocking realization that now the company's scared Directors actually had to make decisions for themselves—and they did not like it. That's why they used to have Wilhelm. He had made the decisions for them, and had paid them to carry out his decisions. Never did they think "responsibility" was a requirement when working for Vector.

So what to do? Vote for the company's new CEO? That didn't seem very practical. Or easy. It was definitely not easy. Vector had over one million employees, and not all of them were conveniently located on the Dammerung. Who would have the right to vote? How would the nominees be selected? No, no, no, that sounded too hard and required unnecessary arithmetic. After the democratic idea was scratched (out of laziness), a bureaucrat who was quicker than most thought that maybe…maybe the presidency should go the Director of _Second _Division. _That _Director hadn't quit, after all… However, replied another, even quicker bureaucrat, Second Division is responsible for making weapons, and is in the business of killing people, for the most part. Maybe promoting that Division's Director as head of the company would not seem very wise, especially in light of Vector's current scandal. Hmm… What to do? Hmm…

No use wasting time over it now, thought those in charge. Since other matters needed to be attended to, they hastily placed a semi-senile 80-year-old man—who had worked in Vector Pharmaceuticals for three quarters of his life—in the CEO's chair. Their plan was to have this drooling old fart buy them time until they could come up with someone better—which would not be very long, since it appeared to them that the newly elected CEO had about 23 seconds left to live and could keel over at just about any moment.

To the young, newly hired 100-Series Observational Realian, though, what went on in the company's upper echelons held little bearing or interest to her life. However, she soon learned that, like her older friend before her, she would have to learn to deal with the idiocies that went on in Vector on a daily basis; because, at the end of the day, what went on in her line of work had the potential to change the course of human history—on a daily basis.

Unfortunately for her, one such idiocy came storming into her new office for the fifth time that day:

"Alright people. Time to move. We're being redirected to B137." He had said, very professionally.

MOMO looked up from her computer terminal, her general good-natured temperament wearing thin, "Excuse me?"

"Yup, yup, yup. The President just decided that he wants all the Realians working together in Sector B137 of the Dammerung." The very official-looking messenger seemed far too cheerful for his own good, as he was having a blast running around the Dammerung ordering people around on behalf of the new CEO, who, incidentally, changed his mind approximately every ten minutes.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." MOMO spat. Wow. Even she was surprised. Joachim Mizrahi's most outstanding contribution to science—MOMO—was not happy. It bothered her that she was becoming less and less friendly, more and more irritated. Apparently, Shion had been a charming, gentle person before she had joined Vector. If the company had changed Shion that much, MOMO was in for a rough ride.

Regardless, even the kind-hearted Realian had had her fill of BS:

"The Realians employed by Vector perform hundreds of different tasks in hundreds of different divisions for hundreds of different purposes!" MOMO seethed, getting up from her desk, "Why would you want to put them all together? They have nothing do to with each other!"  
"Please, miss. There's no reason to get upset. If you'll just gather your stuff and follow me."

MOMO glared at him. This had not been fun. As the Vice Engineer of Vector's newly created Novus Mundus (New World) Network Reactivation Division, which was in charge of re-establishing imaginary space where FTL travel and communication was possible, she had not been treated very kindly since the current CEO began making decisions—and she wasn't in the best of moods. She had already changed offices six times in one week, her Vector uniform was itchy and uncomfortable, her colleagues were mentally impaired at best and clinically brain-dead most of the time, she missed Jr., and the slightest irritation was enough to send her fuming given the fact that, on top of all the idiocies, her Division hadn't accomplished anything meaningful since its birth.

However, instead of slugging the overly-happy messenger, MOMO chose to be civilly disobedient, "I'm afraid that won't be possible." She sighed shrugging her shoulders and smiling in an attempt to recapture her innate cuteness, "This division has already made a discovery, and I'm afraid we cannot leave these walls."

Her colleagues, scattered around at other terminals around the expansive office, woke up and craned their heads to look at her. Apparently even she wasn't above blatant lying.

"Er…care to unpack that, miss?" The messenger looked at her quizzically.

"Oh, of course!" She exclaimed happily, prepared to invent some ground breaking discovery that would make the nuisance standing in front of her go away. She pointed at her computer, "If you'll take a look right here—Ah!—Whoa." She stopped in mid-lie and stared at her screen. She had been telling the truth (unbeknownst to her). On her screen blinked a faint but very clear red dot, indicative of a U.M.N. pulse.

Her colleagues shuffled out of their seats, curious to see how she was going to pull this stunt off—and were equally amazed when they noticed the pulse too.

"I—is that a…" One of them ventured uneasily.

"Yeah." MOMO furrowed her brow, sitting back down at her desk, "It's a U.M.N. pulse clearly showing the presence of a hyperspace column." She began inputting commands into her computer before looking up at the amazed messenger, "You can leave now." She smiled, triumphant in the afterglow of victory.

"Oh, but I…um…Yes Miss." He grumbled, upset that he couldn't carry out the CEO's wishes and inconvenience another group of people, "I'll just show myself out."

MOMO dismissed him with a casual nod, her face not leaving the screen in front of her. Something had caught her eye. She took a sharp breath when her computer revealed something rather foreboding.

"What's wrong?" The Division's Director squatted down beside her, "How far away is the pulse?"

"That's what's surprising." MOMO said, pointing at her screen, "The pulse is approximately 300,000 AUs away from the Dammerung at three o'clock. I can't give you a sector number because the U.M.N. Star Cluster Map is still down, but that pulse is…where the Elsa should be right now if it maintained its current course." She bit her lip. Had something gone wrong? How could there be a hyperspace column if there was no U.M.N.? Was the Elsa ok? Jr. …

"She's right. It seems the Elsa and this new U.M.N. column should be within a very short distance of one another." A voice emerged from the office's sliding door, and all heads turned to see Committee member Juli Mizrahi, along with a Ziggurat Cyborg, entering the Novus Mundus Divison's offices.

"Mom, Ziggy!" MOMO exclaimed, surprised, "Did you see the pulse too? Is the Elsa in danger?"

Ziggy shook his head sadly, "We don't know. The pulse is too far away for us to analyze. We were hoping this Division's Observational Realians could tell us something."

MOMO nodded, "Yes. Absolutely." She typed a flurry of keystrokes on her console, then stopped abruptly. "Wait!" She cried, "I'm getting a U.M.N. transmission from that column!"

Juli gasped, walking briskly towards MOMO's desk, "Is that even possible?"

"That's not important now." Ziggy said anxiously, "What does it say?"

More keystrokes, then: "It's encrypted." MOMO sighed, disappointed, "Let me see if I can decode it by—" She froze, startled. The encrypted message appeared on her screen. She couldn't decipher it just yet, but she new exactly what it was. It had been part of her subconscious for years. There was no mistaking it…

"A fragment of the Y-Data." She whispered.

"What?" Juli looked worried. "MOMO, speak up. What is it?"

MOMO couldn't tell them just yet. She would need some time to remember it. But three words in the message stood out at her like burning embers on the computer's cold screen: "Abel," "Cain," and "Death."

---

The cradle of life lay dormant underneath his feet. Sealed off from physical space for over 4000 years, Lost Jerusalem was slowly remembering how to live. Although it was easier said than done. Despite being found now by those who had promised to take care of it, Lost Jerusalem was still a dead planet, beautiful yet barren. It needed its life source. It longed for the people whose daily activities shaped its very soil…

chaos took a deep breath, inhaling the warm, sandy air of this desert region of the world. The sun was harsh here, but he didn't mind. This area in particular was quite nice: a small garden oasis nestled between the rocky dunes of a barren desert. He knelt beside a flowerbed, holding his sister's badly damaged and battered body.

"You've achieved everything you set out to do." He whispered, smiling, "You've fulfilled your purpose and brought happiness to those around you. Would all of us be so lucky…" His voice trailed off, and he gently set her down among the flowers. A fitting resting place for one so heroic. The bed's green grass canvas overflowed with color and tranquil life, gladly accepting the sleeping maiden. Soft winds blew flower petals around her face, one of them lightly brushing the bridge of her nose, others settling in her hair.

"You've earned your rest." chaos removed KOS-MOS's loose strands of hair from her closed eyes.

"Sleep well now."

He left his sister to her repose and stood up. He could feel the world's awakening. Slowly though, very slowly—it was almost imperceptible, and yet it was definitely happening. chaos felt the light but certain tremor of continents moving beneath his feet. He felt the wind gently ruffle his hair and clothing. Somewhere to the West the sea would begin its dance of tides again. Somewhere far above his head a cloud was forming. Lost Jerusalem—unlike KOS-MOS—no longer desired to sleep, and started remembering how to live.

chaos knew it wouldn't be an easy awakening, though. He knew the planet would wake up and find nobody there to greet it. The revival would be a sad one, and not an entirely complete one, since a planet cannot truly live until there are living things on it—tending to its needs. Taking care of it.

"But the flowers are here."

chaos turned to face Nephilim. She knew what he was thinking. Yes, the flowers were here, and that sign was the best one they could have hoped for. Life had not abandoned Lost Jerusalem, it just needed to come home.

"That's not enough, though, is it?" Nephilim questioned, noticing chaos's solemn gaze into nothingness.

He shook his head. This ancient world needed life in all its forms. It could only truly start living once its inhabitants returned to its surface and began living themselves. chaos knew—he felt the planet's sadness, the planet's longing for the return of its most treasured residents, those strange beings who both loved the planet and killed it at the same time, but whose existence was bound to it none the less.

"I know how Earth feels." chaos muttered, his voice deep and pensive. "It's aching for its people….for the activity that used to surge across its land…" The same way he ached for her. The same way he had been ripped apart from the person who used to infuse his life with energy, who had bowled him over with her love…

"Do you think the Earth is alive?" Nephilim asked, hoping to ease his pain by asking questions whose answers would make him feel better.

chaos nodded, strands of silver hair falling across his face, "Yes. I think so. Although it was dead for a very long time, it wasn't a permanent death. It just needs its people…it's children."

Nephilim smiled for the first time since Lost Jerusalem's disappearance, "Yes. I agree. And I don't think there is reason for us to worry." She knelt down in the flowerbed, absent-mindedly picking up flowers as she spoke, "Humanity has already progressed this far, and it no longer is an impossibility for it to be saved. What was once an ominous uncertainty is now a hopeful future…" She arranged a simple bouquet in her hands, then got up and sat down again next to KOS-MOS, "…They will find their lost home again, or at least, we will make certain that they will have ample time to find it. The same way she will find you again." Nephilim concluded by placing the bouquet in KOS-MOS's sleeping palm, before standing up and letting the warm wind blow through her golden hair.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked, looking back at chaos.

He nodded, "Yes, this must be Jerusalem. The city of peace. It would make sense for us to have arrived here." He was quiet for a moment. This city had, ironically, been through wars and blood and turmoil from the planet's birth to its disappearance 4000 years ago. Now for the first time it truly was peaceful. But in a dead sort of way. Not the peace that the humans—or the planet—desired it to be.

He ran a gloved hand through his hair, lifting his bangs away from his eyes, "How's Abel?" He finally asked after a long silence.

Nephilim smiled again, "Better. Much better! I don't think he's hurting anymore since he decided to abandon the Absolute Manifest. He actually tried to play with the Gnosis earlier today." She released what could be passed as a giggle, "They can't harm him here, although they've been resisting us since we've arrived."

"They just need time." chaos replied, his eyes revealing a depth that betrayed his young face, "Someday they'll lose their deformed bodies and accept our kindness."

"It won't be easy though. The Maiden is key, but she isn't here yet. And Mary sleeps…"

chaos laughed, "You know she doesn't like being called that."

Nephilim bowed her head, "Yes, of course. She is both Mary and yet not Mary, and more KOS-MOS than Mary still… The same way you are more chaos than Yeshua."

The savior frowned, "I was unable to save all…unable to fulfill _my _purpose." He reconsidered, "But in the end I did what I could. It will have to be enough."

Nephilim scowled, "Stop belittling yourself, chaos! You will be rid of your pain only when you stop feeling ashamed of existing!"

"How can I? My powers imperil the universe, yet I'm necessary for human salvation." His eyes darted about, searching her face for answers.

She made note of his concern, "That paradox is part of who you are, chaos. You'd best learn to accept it. You may learn something about yourself which will help ease the pain."

She attempted to say something else that would comfort him, but a loud, startling shriek interrupted her.

"What was that?" She cried, worried.

chaos instinctively broke into a run. That sound…it was full of pain and agony. "Abel!" He called after her, "He's in trouble. Come on!"

He and Nephilim headed quickly in the direction of the scream. They found Abel collapsed on the sandy earth.

"He's in pain…" Nephilim whispered.

The young boy thrashed at the air with his hands, jerking around erratically on the ground and shuddering with unnatural convulsions. He rolled abruptly onto his stomach and buried his face in the dirt. Nephilim and chaos watched confused and horrified as the young boy's muscles contorted in epilepsy and shrill screams erupted from his choking mouth. Abel slapped himself, then attempted to pull out his hair.

"He's going to hurt himself." chaos stated worriedly, and realized he had to do something lest the boy accidentally suffocated himself. chaos ran to Abel's side and quickly lifted the shrieking boy up to a sitting position. Struggling with the boy's flailing arms, chaos grabbed Abel's shoulders and shook him gently but firmly.

"Calm down." He commanded, although his voice was peaceful and soothing. "It's alright. We're here." chaos peered into the boy's eyes. They were glazed over with fear, and his face was deathly pale.

"**AWAY!" **Abel shrieked. His voice was so loud that the air around them rippled. This wasn't a normal sound—the energy propagated from his voice revealed something far more powerful, and it was laden with terror. Had Nephilim and chaos been regular humans, their eardrums would surely have shattered.

"**STOP IT!" ** The voice erupted again, as powerful as the force of colliding planets. This was unreal. How could the young boy contain such agony? How could one voice mimic pandemonium with such full intensity?

"**STOOOP IIIIIT!"**

chaos winced. It was becoming too much, even for him. He could feel the boy's pain. Something deep inside Abel was tearing him apart.

"He needs you, Nephilim!" chaos shouted above the roar of Abel's voice. "Please pacify him!"

The screams were bone-chilling. chaos knew drastic measures had to be taken. He knew that Lost Jerusalem could hear Abel's pained shrieks, and that they were terrifying it. This wasn't the life the planet wanted. If it heard more, it would surely return to its death…

"I have no choice!" Nephilim cried as she began to glow. "I'm going to have to disengage him for the moment. Please stand back!"

chaos let go of Abel's writhing body as the girl gently placed her hand on Abel's forehead and shut his eyes. The screaming finally stopped, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

chaos held his head for a moment. He could still hear the agonized cries. They reverberated around his head like lingering ghosts.

"Where did you send him?" He asked, when the pandemonium finally subsided.

"To the nearest Klein Point." Nephilim replied, cradling Abel in her arms, "I'm sure the one who has done this to him won't find his consciousness there."

chaos nodded, "Was it?…" His calm voice trailed off.

She nodded sadly, "Yes, I'm afraid it was Cain. I feared this would happen. When the Absolute Manifest dissolved, the Direct Operator—U-DO—decided to remain in this lower plane of existence, abandoning heaven and imaginary space. He split his consciousness into the two conduits he uses to exist in this universe…"

"Cain and Abel." chaos sighed, suddenly understanding. A feeling of dread settled on his heart. He was surprised—dread not a good feeling, but it was a human feeling. He hadn't felt this way before…

Nephilim continued, "U-DO obviously did not desire for Cain to poison this world, so Cain was locked in the remains of the Absolute Manifest. Apparently Cain is now seeking a way into this plane of existence. No doubt he must be furious over Zarathustra's death and wishes to punish both humans and Abel."

chaos clenched his fists in anger. This was too much too soon, "I don't understand." He looked at Nephilim, his eyes glowing, "If Cain is also locked up in a Klein Point, then how can he be interfering with this world?"

Nephilim shrugged, "It's too early to tell, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were channeling his power through deactivated—what is it that you call them?—U.M.N. columns. Those are the only windows left between this lower plane of existence and the Absolute Manifest."

chaos noticed that Nephilim was beginning to tire from carrying Abel's weight. He took the boy into his arms. "We should leave this area." He said, "The Gnosis are starting to act strangely."

She looked up. Surely enough, the Gnosis had began swarming around them ever since Abel started screaming. Cain's calling…

"Yes. Let us leave."

They arrived at the flowerbed where KOS-MOS was sleeping. The Gnosis appeared to be terrified of the garden, and avoided it like the plague. They would continue to avoid it until they accepted salvation.

"If Cain is trying to re-establish hyperspace columns, then his goal must be to—" chaos stopped abruptly, a dangerous thought suddenly crossing his mind. "No." He breathed, "If the Elsa gates-in then…" chaos quickly sat down next to his sister with Abel in his arms. He bowed and placed his forehead against Abel's.

Apparently the U.M.N.'s destruction had not been complete. There were still pockets left where the Absolute Manifest interacted with the physical world—Klein Points. chaos searched the remainder of the Absolute Manifest with his heart. Shion…he could feel her. What he felt though, brought a smile to his face.

"She's coming." chaos exhaled, relieved. "This isn't Cain's doing. Not yet anyway."

Nephilim nodded, "What she seeks will hurt her." She began, then looked at chaos, "No. It will help her. Another paradox. It seems we all have much to learn before Lost Jerusalem fully awakens."

He frowned, "But Cain will certainly try to interfere. He's the one who re-established the transfer column to begin with."

"What will you do?" Nephilim's eyes seemed to bore holes through him, intense with the importance of her question, "Your actions may imperil the universe now that your powers are no longer sealed."

"There's nothing to be done about that." He stated resolutely, "Shion is searching for us. The least I can do is help her find me."

"Will you use Abel to reach the Maiden?"

"Yes, if it doesn't harm him."

She shook her head, "No. For the first time your future is in your hands. You msu use Abel to Dive and lead her here."

He nodded, "Please take care of Abel and KOS-MOS while I'm gone."

"Of course. It's up to you. Earth will be sorry you have to leave so soon."

He smiled, "The Earth will understand. It knows I'm aching for something that I lost too."

chaos closed his eyes. Only Klein Points would be available for Diving. He needed to be extremely careful, as this was a full body Dive, and his powers were no longer kept in check. But he knew exactly where she was. He could _feel_ her, the same way he felt Lost Jerusalem awaken around him. Their hearts would eventually cross again.

---

She knew her time on this planet was limited. Unfair. Shion didn't want to go. She didn't want KOS-MOS to go back to sleep either, not after realizing what a wonderful person she truly was. But it'd probably be best not to complain. She was on Lost Jerusalem now, and had to make the precious few remaining moments left here meaningful. She arose from the sandy beach, drenched in moonlight, and found him on the shoreline facing the horizon. She stealthily sneaked up behind him and snaked her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

He smiled, surprised by the sudden soft, warm touch, "Can't sleep?" He whispered.

She shrugged, "Don't want to."

They stood embracing in silence for a while, then, "You're not going to leave, are you chaos?" She asked longingly.

"No." He turned around to face her, "Not anytime soon."

For some reason she didn't believe him. Not because she thought he was lying, but because she felt there was a power out there greater than the both of them that disagreed with his statement.

"But—" He silenced her by placing his index finger on her lips. Her heart fluttered. She weakened every time his emerald eyes caught hers. He gently tilted her head and kissed her.

Whatever, no use worrying about it now. She broke the kiss and took in the scent of his skin.

"Shion." He whispered into her ear. She loved it when he did that.

"Shion." She giggled. His voice sent shivers down her spine. How she would have loved to stay like this here with him, forever and ever…

**"SHION!"**

"Ah!" The young brunette woke up and tumbled ungracefully off the ledge she had been sleeping on.

"Jeez." Jr. sighed, exasperated. He folded his arms and looked down at his groggy friend, "Excuse me for interrupting the wet dream you were undoubtedly having about chaos, but the current situation unfortunately calls for your attention!" He glared her.

"Ugh…alright I'm up." She grunted, taking a moment to catch her bearings and observe her surroundings. The Elsa was…a mess. Chairs, food, and cabinets were strewn around everywhere. The bridge was in shambles, and the cabins, she concluded, must be in a similar state. Although the Elsa's slovenly appearance had little effect on Shion now because she was perceiving something far more alarming. She and Jr. were standing on the ship's ceiling. The Elsa was…upside down.

"Uh…Jr.?" She looked around bewildered, "Is something wrong with the Elsa's artificial gravity?"

"Well…not exactly." He pointed to the bridge's window. "Take a look."

Her eyes followed the direction of his finger as she gazed at what lay beyond the freighter. Sunlight was streaming in through the window, and she saw trees…

"Are we on a planet?" She asked, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

"Yup," the Captain called from behind her, "We've crash-landed on this crappy piece of rock. Grr…Just what we needed. Now I'll never be able to pay off my god-damn debts." He fumed.

"Easy Captain." Jr. said soothingly, trying to take the Captain's mind off his money (or lack thereof), "Where're Hammer, Tony, and the Professor?"

Mathews grunted, "The two crewmates were knocked out during the impact. I've got the droids taking care of those two good-for-nothings. As for that freeloading Professor—I don't mean to be crude—but I don't know where he is and frankly, I don't care."

"O-ok, we'll take care of that." Shion managed to say as she held her bruised and aching head. Why did things always happen faster than she could even assess? She felt like she was always a hundred steps behind everything. She'd never wished more for KOS-MOS to be by her side…KOS-MOS always had the right answer…

"Well," Jr. raised an eyebrow and glared back at Shion, "Remember when we gated-in to that hyperspace column (and I believe that that was your bright idea, but I digress). We naturally had no idea where we were going through hyperspace or when we were going to gate-out, but when we finally did gate-out, Tony was completely unprepared (surprise, surprise). The fact that we were within two miles of this planet's atmosphere once we popped out of hyperspace didn't help either. We had no time to slow down, so—"

"I see." Shion nodded in understanding, "at the speeds the Elsa was going, we were pulled into the planet's gravitational field and had no time to fly out of it. So we crashed."

"Exactly," the Captain spat, "It's a miracle we survived, although the Elsa's shields are shot and we can't even dream of getting her back up into space without first propping her back right-side-up."

"Oh…" Shion lowered her gaze. This situation was partially her fault. She _had_ forced all of them to gate-in to the U.M.N. column, so it was her responsibility to get them out of this setback.

"Ok." She said, "I'll go out with Jr. and search for help. Maybe we can get someone to right the Elsa back up. If not I'll at least go search for the professor and see if he and Scott are safe. There are trees here, so I'm assuming the planet is inhabitable?"

A loud crash was heard behind them, and they turned to find Tony struggling to get back into the bridge by moving a large, metallic desk out of his way, "Yeah." He answered, after successfully breaking the desk, "Before we crashed, the Elsa's sensors detected an atmospheric oxygen content of 20 percent, so it should be fine."

"You're paying for that…" The Captain grumbled.

Tony ignored his captain's statement, and instead decided to play the role of gentleman in an attempt to impress Shion, "Hey, listen, I don't think it's a good idea that the only lady on this ship go out into potentially dangerous territory. Maybe she should stay here—with me of course—and the Little Master can go search for help by himself."

Jr. walked up to the pilot, smacked him across the head, and then grabbed Shion's arm, "Oh no you don't. She got us into this, and now she's going to get us out. And besides, she's the only one here that can cast Erde spells, so she's definitely coming. I wouldn't expect you three cowards to want to leave your beloved ship, but if I'm going on this search-and-rescue mission, then Shion's coming too!" He began dragging Shion towards the Elsa's emergency hatch.

"Ah, let go Jr.! And relax, of course I'm coming. I know you'd be scared if you had to go alone." She smirked, "You three try not to get into any trouble while we're gone." She looked at the Captain, Tony, and at a Hammer who wasn't present but who was probably eavesdropping anyway.

"Don't worry about us." Jr. called out as he undid the safety latch to the Elsa's emergency exit. A door un-vacuumed, swung open, and revealed the heavily forested outside world. He was about to take his first step on the mysterious planet when one of the area's native beasts let out a low growl.

"Uh…" Jr. stumbled then stepped back into the ship, "Ladies first?" He smiled sheepishly.

Shion rolled her eyes, "Come on you big baby, and all of you stop worrying." She stepped out into the forest, dragging Jr. with her. "We'll be fine!"

---

To their dismay, they most certainly would not be fine.

"Yaaaaaah!" Jr. screamed, unleashing a volley of bullets from his guns before quickly hiding behind a tree. The sound of a heavy body hitting the ground indicated that he had found his target.

"Why do they keep attacking us!" He hissed as he grabbed Shion and pulled her down out of the enemy's line of sight. Not long after Shion and Jr. had left the Elsa, strangely clad soldiers whose uniforms bore the Ormus insignia had accosted them with none too friendly intentions.

"I-I don't know!" Shion gasped, still trying to understand the situation. "I don't even know what planet we're on. For a minute I hoped we had finally reached Lost Jerusalem, but these blade-swinging freaks intent on killing us kind of blew that theory out of the water!"

"Shhh!" Her friend hissed again, "More of them are coming! Now listen," He lowered his voice to a confidential whisper and began speaking in a rather condescending way, "these soldiers only have blades and swords. That means that they won't be able to attack from a distance. This puts us at a clear advantage, so our plan is to keep our distance from them while sniping them off as we go along. These trees will provide us with protection—"

She flicked his head, annoyed, "Thanks for being so patronizing, sir, but I think I've fought my own share of battles in the past." She pointed ahead towards an open meadow, surrounded by trees, "Now _you_ listen to _me_, and see if you can understand a little word called 'strategy': After I say 'go', we both split from this tree in opposite directions, strafing any soldiers we come by with our long-range weapons. Keep your distance. We keep firing rapid volleys until we both reach trees that are at a 180 degree angle away from each other, and we hide there. Once we're both out of sight, we wait until the enemies come out into that open meadow. They're going to have to cross through it in order to get to our position, and that's when they'll be most vulnerable. At that point, we ambush them with a dual-tech attack and then either move forward or fall back and repeat the attack as necessary. Do NOT use any Ether attacks, as we'll need to save our Ether for healing. I'll be prepared to support you if you become injured, as you should do if I myself am wounded. Questions?"

Jr. gaped at her wide-eyed, "Holy crap…" He began.

"Yes, I know. I'm amazing. Now GO!"

He didn't have to be told twice. Jr. bolted to the left as Shion headed right, unloading electrical volleys from her M.W.S.. As planned, they strafed their way to the desired trees, taking out any soldiers that came into their line of vision.

"Uh!" Shion grunted as she fired one last shot from her weapon—which found its mark in an enemy's chest—before dropping to the ground. She rolled across the heavily thicketed area and finally sat up behind a tree. Not even a scratch.

She looked behind her to see if Jr. had been as lucky as she was. He had, and neither of them seemed to be wounded.

His gaze met hers. She mouthed "on my three." To him, as both of them prepared their weapons and charged their Ether. She held up her index finger. One.

A few soldiers began filing cautiously into the open meadow.

She held up two fingers. Two. More soldiers filed in. It seemed too easy, Jr. thought. These soldiers were behaving exactly the way Shion and Jr. wanted them too. Could this be some sort of trap? No time for that. These soldiers were going to be toast in a second anyway.

Three.

"NOW!" She yelled. Both them leaped from their hiding spots, weapons at the ready:

"Archangel's Requiem!"

Their voices resonated throughout the forest, and feathered bolts of light fell from the sky, incinerating the surprised soldiers. The attack completely cleared the meadow.

"Ok, lets move!" But Shion barely got the words out before Jr. roughly shoved her aside.

"Look out!" He cried, but it was too late. Neither of them had thought to look up after their attack, which fired from the top down, so neither of them noticed the two soldiers that had been hiding up in the trees, and were now leaping on to the two friends.

Neither of them had slow reflexes either, though, but something strangely unexpected happened, even as lasers and bullets left Shion's and Jr.'s weapons.

"What the…!" Jr. cried in stupefied horror as the two soldiers mutated in midair into Gnosis, deflecting any attacks that either Jr. or Shion unleashed at them due to the lack of the Hilbert Effect.

"Ah!" Shion screamed in tandem with Jr. as both she and he fell to the ground, knocked down by the Gnosis' fearsome punches. She gasped a difficult breath as her body began to crystallize, hardening from the contact with the Gnosis. Jr.'s muffled cries could only mean that he had succumbed to the same fate.

Luckily, both she and Jr. had been vaccinated with G-Resistance, but it would take a few minutes for their immune systems to clear their bodies of the Gnosis' poison. Until then, they were both paralyzed. Fortunately, though, something else unexpected happened: the Gnosis disappeared immediately after attacking them, vaporizing into nothingness.

"What's going on?" Shion managed to choke out, her body still unresponsive.

"Death to you all."

A chilling voice silenced both of them. Shion felt the footsteps of someone approaching, but she couldn't see his face. She did see, however, the heavy foot of a soldier coming down hard on Jr.'s chest."

"Jr.!" She cried, trying in vain to get up. Even if she had been able too, her M.W.S. had been knocked out of her hand by the earlier impact with the Gnosis.

"You…" The mysterious voice growled again, but Shion knew it was talking to her, "You filth. You have defiled Zarathustra! God's predestined Plan will not come to pass now because you infidels have interfered and soiled his holy cause!"

Great, Shion grunted to herself, another religious crackpot. The hooded man leered over her, peering at her face, then shrunk away in horror. She still couldn't see him because he was silhouetted against the sun, and his face was in shadow.

"Her!" He bellowed, more out of fear then anger. Shion felt him shuffle off next to one of his companions, "Take her to the nearest Klein Point, now! I want you to force-Dive her into virtual space, and then brainjack her! And don't take any chances. I want every single one of her mental circuits permanently destroyed."

What! Shion felt Jr. going wild beside her. He seemed to have gained control of his left arm, and was attempting to find his gun, but one of the soldiers stepped brutally on his hand, crushing his fingers.

What was going on? Shion screamed as she felt two rough hands haul her rudely over someone's shoulder. She could think of very few things that were worse than brainjacking—the destruction of a brain by virtual space interference. What horrified her more though, was that she had no idea why these strangers would want to do this to her. She was in the dark once again, and understood nothing.

"H-help…" She managed to choke out, before being violently punched unconscious.

---

Flowers shuffled underneath her weight. Quickly yet gracefully, she sprung to her feet, and the bouquet that she had held in her sleep fluttered to the ground. Something deep within her interrupted her slumber, and her eyes flared back to life. Red this time—the color that her creator gave her. She took a step, and the planet recognized and respected her newfound strength and resolve.

Nephilim noticed the angel that had arisen, and looked surprised (or as surprised as it was possible for Nephilim to look).

"My services have not been completed." KOS-MOS's voice resounded around the earth, reminding the planet of what humans sounded like. Oddly enough, KOS-MOS was both human and not, both android and angel. Both Mary and Shion's creation. The Earth responded to her statements just the same, though, and a force deep inside it began to stir. A vague tremor shook the planet, and only KOS-MOS sensed it, but it's aftereffects were incredible. Lost Jerusalem once again began to spin…

"I was unable to protect her before." KOS-MOS asserted, approaching Nephilim, "I will not make the same mistake again. Failure is unacceptable."

Nephilim bowed her head, revering KOS-MOS's choice along with Lost Jerusalem. However…KOS-MOS was far from being in good shape. Her right arm was missing, and she still looked like she belonged in the scrap heap, or a coffin, or…someplace not standing. Nevertheless….

"Very well," Nephilim said, still bowing, "You shall do as you must, Mary."

"I am not Mary," Her eyes flared again, "I am KOS-MOS."

And it was as she said. KOS-MOS was awakened once again, but her red eyes told the world she was still sleeping.

"Another paradox." Nephilim smiled, "Yes, of course, KOS-MOS. Your resolve is to be admired, and it may be just what this planet needs in order to awaken." Nephilim led KOS-MOS to a fascinated Abel, who had since been brought back to the physical world and seemed mesmerized with KOS-MOS.

"You. Hurt." The autistic boy stated with genuine concern, pointing to KOS-MOS's missing arm.

"Feel. Better." Abel asserted. He willed for KOS-MOS to be fixed, and she was. Warm light enveloped her, and her innate potential was drawn out. The light receded, and she was fully restored, looking as powerful and beautiful as ever.

The blue-haired Aeon knelt down next Abel, so that their eyes were at the same level. She smiled, "Thank you Abel. I'm afraid I need to ask you for more assistance."

The boy didn't even blink, "Ask."

"Please send me to Shion."

"Yes."

The young boy obliged, and sent KOS-MOS through the remnants of the U.M.N.—of the Absolute Manifest. He obliged with her request almost happily. There was something enticing about KOS-MOS's desire to protect her creator. But this time, she was no longer operating on a Prime Directive. She was merely fulfilling a promise—a promise that they would all see each other again.

Yay! Thanks for reading this far. The next update will be up soon…hopefully. Cheesy cliffhanger: What will happen next? Will they all be reunited? Will Shion be brainjacked? Who knows! Well, I do, of course…(neener, neener, neener.)

Ok, I'm having way too much fun. Until the next chapter then. Bye!

Oh, and by all means R/R! And thanks a million to those of you who reviewed already. The special ones know who they are, and will be thanked accordingly in my trademark thank-a-thon.


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